“O colleagues, if we indulge in deep sorrow at this new diminution of our fraternity by the death of one of its seniors, it must be forgiven, as consonant to our duty and piety, as well as to the affections of human nature. Indeed, when his death was announced, and when I afterwards beheld the mournful pomp of his funeral, I was afflicted with the utmost grief. Nor can this be wondered at, when it is borne in mind that he was nearly of my own age, and next to me the eldest of our Society; the habit, too, of friendly intercourse enjoyed for many years, has great influence in riveting the affections of the mind. “There is a narrative in Herodotus, concerning Psammenitus king of Egypt, who was conquered by Cambyses king of Persia. The city of Memphis being taken by storm, he had fallen into the hands of Cambyses; who, enraged at the vigorous defence he had encountered, commanded the royal family to be brought forth and put to death. In the first place, his daughter was paraded before him, with many maidens of noble birth, clothed as slaves; and though the other parents uttered piteous lamentations, yet Psammenitus kept his eyes fixed on the ground: in like manner, when his sons, together with two thousand of the principal youths, their necks bound with ropes, with bridles in their mouths, were ignominiously led to death, the king did not even utter a groan; but on seeing an aged man approach, one of his old friends, who had formerly partaken of the royal table, walking in the dress of a mendicant, and imploring mercy through the different ranks of the army, then indeed the king could restrain his emotions no longer, but broke forth into the most bitter wailings. The cause of this strange grief it would be foreign to our present purpose to discuss; I only wish to draw this conclusion--that the death of an old friend and companion was alone able to subdue his mind, even after it had supported him against the severest calamities. For the force of habit and friendly intercourse is most powerful: we bring to recollection many things which prey upon our feelings; they rush upon our memory with one impetus, and swell the rising grief; we dwell on early struggles, on proofs of mental power, and instances of benevolence, which formerly we had passed unheeded. “What is known favourably of the character of him who is taken away from us, it is our pleasing duty to bring before you; what is otherwise, if anything exist, it is not our province to remember.